In 2011, hunters donated 6,191 deer statewide to the Share the Harvest program helping to feed thousands of Missourians statewide. Last year, local donations helped to feed over 150 families each month, for nearly ten months, through the Scotland County Ministerial Alliance Food Pantry.

"We are asking the community for their continued support of this program by donating whole deer at the local designated drop-off point," said Pantry volunteer Dan Hite. "Whole deer that have been properly field dressed can be dropped off at the northeast corner of the parking area at the BP Gas & More convenient store on US 136 Highway in Memphis. Donations will be received between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on November 10th and 11th, then again on the weekend of November 17th and 18th.

Whole deer also can be taken directly to the Rutledge Meat Market in Rutledge or Kahoka Meat and Cheese in Kahoka during their regular store hours.

"We thank the Scotland County Rotary for their continued financial support with processing costs, the Pepsi Cola Memphis Bottling Company for the purchase of Share the Harvest banners and all the local volunteers who are willing to give up their weekends to help meet the needs of others in our community," Hite said.

In 2012, the Food Bank of Central and Northeast Missouri, along with the Conservation Federation and local food pantries, encourage area hunters to donate a deer for the purpose of helping families in the local community.

Share the Harvest is a program administered by the Conservation Federation of Missouri. Hunters who want to participate simply take their deer to a participating meat processor. There is typically no processing fee charged to the hunter when a whole deer is donated. The processor is paid $60 by the Conservation Federation, for each whole deer processed.

The processed venison, usually ground into burger, is distributed to local food pantries and is made available to families in the community who are struggling to make ends meet.

Financially speaking, many families are currently experiencing the "perfect storm". The rising costs of groceries, fuel and utilities, often coupled with the loss of a job, cause many local families to have to choose between basic necessities. Donating a deer to Share the Harvest is one way to help mitigate these difficult choices.

In 2011, the 11 days that comprised the Firearms "Main Portion" season yielded 191,000 of the 292,000 deer harvested throughout all deer hunting seasons. Over 6,000 deer were donated to Share the Harvest.

Many processors only accept deer donations for a few weeks in November, which include the 11 days of the Firearms "Main Portion" season.

For more information about Share the Harvest call (800) 764-3663 or visit www.mdc.mo.gov and click on "Share the Harvest".